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The 1921 Greenwood Massacre Trivia Quiz

The 1921 Greenwood massacre was a race riot that took place in Tulsa, OK. It is not my place to judge what happened here, just to record it and maybe encourage further reading about it.

A multiple-choice quiz by chicochi3. Estimated time: 7 mins.

Author
chicochi3

Time
7 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
315,749

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
15

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
8 / 15

Plays
531

Last 3 plays: Guest 196 (4/15), Guest 73 (2/15), Guest 69 (8/15).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 15

1. What was the Greenwood area of Tulsa, Oklahoma also known as in 1921? Hint

Black Wall Street

Black Homeplace

Black Haven

Black District

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Question 2 of 15

2. Why did Dick Rowland, who worked as a shoe shiner at a Main Street shine parlor enter the Drexel Building? Hint

The editor of the local newspaper who had his office in the Drexel Building had sent for him to come shine his shoes

He had argued with Sarah Page and was going to apologize

He was going to the "colored" restroom on the top floor

He was on lunch break and was headed to the "colored" diner for lunch

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Question 3 of 15

3. Why did a group of armed black citizens offer to help the police defend Dick Rowland against the lynch mob? Hint

They were afraid that the lynch mob would come after their families

Because less than a year before the police had been unable to prevent to lynching of a young White man by a Black lynch mob

The sheriff had organized his deputies in a defensive position and there were still gaps in the defense

The sheriff had no available deputies to defend the upper floors of the Courthouse where Rowland was jailed

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Question 4 of 15

4. Why did some of the 1000+ white men gathered in front of the courthouse leave after the armed black men offered their assistance to the police? Hint

The sheriff told them if they didn't go home they would be arrested

It was dinner time

They went home to get their own guns after having seen Blacks carrying guns

They figured the excitement was over and left

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Question 5 of 15

5. About how many people did the National Guard have to force away from their armory so they couldn't take their guns and ammunition? Hint

700-800

25-75

300-400

150

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Question 6 of 15

6. Why did most of the black men return to Greenwood? Hint

The armed white men and the armed black men had opened fire on each other

The deputies gathered them into groups and escorted them home

They were talked into in by the sheriff

The National Guard had opened fire on them

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Question 7 of 15

7. With the armed white men pursuing the armed black men back to Greenwood, what group of innocent people got caught up in the shooting? Hint

People leaving a movie theater

Shop owners trying to defend their stores

People waiting for a bus

A wedding party just coming out of a church

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Question 8 of 15

8. What was believed by many to be a signal to launch an assault on Greenwood? Hint

Church bell

Car horn

Police whistle

Train whistle

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Question 9 of 15

9. How do numerous accounts say that Greenwood caught fire? Hint

Groups of individuals with rags and gas cans set fire to every third building in each block

KKK members put burning crosses in several yards and the fire spread from yard to yard

Rioters cut gas lines to businesses and used pieces of twine and newspaper as a fuse to light them on fire

Airplanes dropped incendiary bombs on Greenwood

10. There were about 800 people admitted to local hospitals for injuries. The vast majority of those hospitalized were white. Why were so many more white people than black people admitted to the hospital with injuries? Hint

Blacks mostly didn't have any way to get to the hospitals

Very few black people were injured

Blacks usually died in internment centers

Both of the black hospitals were destroyed in the rioting

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Question 11 of 15

11. What part did the KKK officially play in the Greenwood massacre? Hint

They led the armed white men

None

They prevented the police from firing any shots at the white men by stealing their ammunition

They burned crosses in yards in Greenwood, setting the entire district on fire

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Question 12 of 15

12. The Tulsa Reparations Commission was formed to award some kind of restitution for damages that took place in the 1921 Greenwood massacre. In what year was it formed. Hint

1968

1924

2001

1960

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Question 13 of 15

13. What evidence was NOT found by the Tulsa Reparations Commission of mass graves related to the Greenwood massacre? Hint

eyewitness reports

archaeological evidence

geophysical search

all of these were found

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Question 14 of 15

14. In March, 2004, US District Judge James O. Ellison dismissed a lawsuit seeking to force the state and city governments to pay restitution to the survivors of the Greenwood massacre. Why was the lawsuit dismissed? Hint

There were no legal grounds for the lawsuit

The laws of the times made all the actions against the Blacks in this case legal

All of the elderly survivors who had filed the suit had passed away

The time limit under the Statute of Limitations had expired

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Question 15 of 15

15. What request by the city of Tulsa did Judge Ellison dismiss? Hint

The request to seal all information on the facts of the case

The request that the plaintiffs' attorneys be punished because they knew that the case was too old

The request that the judge recuse himself because he was related to one of the plaintiffs

The request that no further investigation of this massacre take place

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Mar 30 2024 : Guest 196: 4/15
Mar 15 2024 : Guest 73: 2/15
Feb 29 2024 : Guest 69: 8/15

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What was the Greenwood area of Tulsa, Oklahoma also known as in 1921?

Answer: Black Wall Street

The buildings on Greenwood Avenue in 1921 were home to the offices of almost all of the black doctors, lawyers, business owners, etc. of the black community of Tulsa, Oklahoma. It also housed these professional people, some of whom were millionaires. (At the time Tulsa was an oil boom town).

http://www.uaw-chrysler.com/resources/news.cfm?NewsID=2036

2. Why did Dick Rowland, who worked as a shoe shiner at a Main Street shine parlor enter the Drexel Building?

Answer: He was going to the "colored" restroom on the top floor

Separate but equal? Sarah Page, being a young white woman, would not have even spoken to Dick Rowland.

3. Why did a group of armed black citizens offer to help the police defend Dick Rowland against the lynch mob?

Answer: Because less than a year before the police had been unable to prevent to lynching of a young White man by a Black lynch mob

For information on the 1920 lynching of a white man by a black lynch mob, look up "Roy Belton". It's an amazing story in itself.

4. Why did some of the 1000+ white men gathered in front of the courthouse leave after the armed black men offered their assistance to the police?

Answer: They went home to get their own guns after having seen Blacks carrying guns

Most likely, this was the beginning of the end.

5. About how many people did the National Guard have to force away from their armory so they couldn't take their guns and ammunition?

Answer: 300-400

The National Guard was already on alert due to the situation at the courthouse, and they had received warning that this crowd of people was coming to break in to the armory.

6. Why did most of the black men return to Greenwood?

Answer: The armed white men and the armed black men had opened fire on each other

The black men returned to Greenwood after being fired upon in order to defend their homes and businesses. The white men pursued them.

7. With the armed white men pursuing the armed black men back to Greenwood, what group of innocent people got caught up in the shooting?

Answer: People leaving a movie theater

Innocent bystanders who lived in Greenwood were shot and killed even though they had had no involvement in the standoff at the courthouse.

8. What was believed by many to be a signal to launch an assault on Greenwood?

Answer: Train whistle

The train whistle sounded at 5:00 am. Whether it was actually a signal or not is not clear. It was probably just a train whistle.

9. How do numerous accounts say that Greenwood caught fire?

Answer: Airplanes dropped incendiary bombs on Greenwood

The airplanes were six two-seater biplanes from WWI. The incendiary bombs story came from eye witness accounts. Although the existence of the planes flying overhead is verified, the dropping of incendiary bombs from them is not officially verified.

Answer: Both of the black hospitals were destroyed in the rioting

With no place for injured Blacks to go, there is no record of Blacks being hospitalized for injuries. No way was a white hospital going to treat them.

11. What part did the KKK officially play in the Greenwood massacre?

Answer: None

There are no official records of the KKK having any part in this massacre. However, the KKK was heavily involved in the city of Tulsa within 6 months of the Greenwood massacre.

12. The Tulsa Reparations Commission was formed to award some kind of restitution for damages that took place in the 1921 Greenwood massacre. In what year was it formed.

Answer: 2001

It took 80 years for the city to take some action and accept some responsibility for what happened in the Greenwood area of Tulsa.

13. What evidence was NOT found by the Tulsa Reparations Commission of mass graves related to the Greenwood massacre?

Answer: archaeological evidence

Archaeological evidence was not found because the investigators had no authority to do archaeological research in the area.

Answer: The time limit under the Statute of Limitations had expired

The time limit for filing Civil Rights lawsuits is two years.

15. What request by the city of Tulsa did Judge Ellison dismiss?

Answer: The request that the plaintiffs' attorneys be punished because they knew that the case was too old

Judge Ellison called the motion to punish the plaintiffs' attorneys the result of a "contentious attitude" that "has been destructive and wasteful of judicious resources". The plaintiffs' legal team was led by Charles Ogletree and Johnnie Cochran.

Source: Author chicochi3

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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